drowning

v

" and if I jump , let me sink "

-

JUNE

After another infuriating encounter with Sam at lunch, I was dreading going to the Gardens, even more than I had been before. He just never knew when to stop, and I had no idea why all of a sudden he thought I wanted anything to do with him. He knew exactly how to push my buttons, and he enjoyed it, I'm sure of it.

Nonetheless, he left me confused. The Sam I saw on Saturday was not the same Samuel Bridgeman I've come to despise. He was not the sex-addicted, woman-playing, June-tormenting Sam that made it very clear he was out to ruin my life. The Sam I ran into was warm, and gentle. He radiated a sense of safety, and it wasn't something I'd felt around a guy in a painstakingly long time. However, it was Sam, and at the end of the day, he would always be the same jerk I've known him to be.

After navigating my way to the assisted living home I'd be spending some quality time at for the remainder of the semester, I pulled up to find a familiar motorcycle already parked out front, with it's owner leaning up against it. As I exited my car and headed toward the entrance of the center, Sam fell in step with me, which boiled my blood a little more than it probably should've. What can I say- Sam held a very special place in my heart.

"So, June," he began, and I wondered why he was still attempting to talk to me. "If we have to change any bed pans while we're here, I'm totally okay with letting that responsibility fall on your shoulders. Sound like a plan?"

"You're disgusting," I scoffed. A place like this very obviously would have certified nurses for that kind of thing, and I knew he was at least smart enough to know that. His go at trying to get me to look past our lunch-time dispute were less than successful.

As we walked through the sliding doors, we were immediately greeted by a young nurse who was placed behind the front desk.

"Hi, there!" she exclaimed, and came around the front desk to greet us properly. "Are you the two coming from the high school?"

"Yeah, we are," Sam said, interjecting himself in front of me. "That's June, and I'm Sam."

I rolled my eyes at his attempt to already start flirting, not even thirty seconds into our arrival. The lady clad in pink scrubs laughed, but offered her hand nonetheless, to which Sam shook a few moments too long. Glancing ahead at their intertwined hands, I wondered if Sam noticed the large engagement ring around her finger, or if she was just gonna let him figure it out on his own. Either way, there was no way he'd make it down those medical pants.

"Well, it's nice to meet you both," she beamed, and gestured for us to follow her down a hallway she headed for. "My name's Quinn, and I'll be your supervising nurse. Usually another nurse, Rebecca, would deal with stuff like this, but she's on maternity leave for the next couple of months, so I'll be overseeing you two."

We were brought to the entrance of what looked like a supplies closet, and, sure enough, Quinn opened the door to reveal all sorts of things a place like this would need. However, there were also stacks of what I assumed to be scrubs, my theory confirmed when she handed both Sam and I our own set of baby pink medical sets. I'm not sure who was less enthusiastic by the color- me or Sam.

"We carry extra sets of scrubs for our student workers, so feel free to take those home with you to keep while you spend your semester here," Quinn explained. She then led us to a changing room, to which Sam took upon himself to enter first. In our period of waiting, Quinn turned to me and continued to talk. "So, I take it you two are dating?"